Stupid newbie home network set up Q

[Mkbruin]

I'm looking to change the setup for my home network and need some input.

Facts: 3 story home. The house is wired with Cat 5e, currently set up for telephone but we do not have a land-line and never will. Patch panel for coax and cat5 is located in the master bedroom closet, far corner of the upstairs. Xfinity is the cable provider. No devices are hard-wired, all are WiFi.

Current setup is the cable modem and nighthawk router are connected to a coax outlet behind a splitter on the main level in the entertainment center cabinet.

I'd like to move the modem to the upstairs closet and move the nighthawk router to the office on the main floor connected via the pre-wired Cat5e. In addition to the Netgear router, I've got a few older/slower Linksys routers (ea4500, ea6400, ea6500).

I was thinking about Modem - Linksys router as switch - Nighthawk, but I'm seeing that would probably cause ISP IP issues.

How should I set this up?

 

[JackMDS]

Not clear what you are trying to gain from this "Move".

If the idea is to gain More Wireless Power you can leave the system as is and the the Linksys Wireless Routers at a certain point in the house and configure them as an Access Points.

Using Wireless Routers (or Modem/Wireless Router) as a Switch with Access Point - http://www.ezlan.net/router_AP.html

 

[Mkbruin]

1) stronger signal to the cable modem, fewer splits and shorter run.
2) main/strongest router more accessible and not stuffed in a fully enclosed cabinet.
3) possibility/option to hard-wire in the future, if I want to.

 

[ch33zw1z]

You can do what you want but the modem to the router needs to be a direct run. This can be through the in wall cabling, but no switch in between. Then build the network from behind the router.

The tough part here is how to get two in wall Ethernet runs to the office if it's not there already. You may need the second Ethernet run to expand the lan to the rest of the house

As said, if you're just trying to expand wifi signal, there's easier ways.

 

[Mkbruin]

You can do what you want but the modem to the router needs to be a direct run. This can be through the in wall cabling, but no switch in between. Then build the network from behind the router.

The tough part here is how to get two in wall Ethernet runs to the office if it's not there already. You may need the second Ethernet run to expand the lan to the rest of the house

As said, if you're just trying to expand wifi signal, there's easier ways.

Sorry about the really stupid questions, as I said, I'm a bit of a newbie.

So the recommended setup is:
modem and router 1 in the upstairs closet, house hard-wires plugged directly into the router;
Router 2 on the main floor (used by the most devices), hard wired to the network and configured as an access point
Router 3 in the basement, hard wired to the network and configured as an access point

The routers I have are:
1) Netgear Nighthawk AC2600 - Walmart black friday special
2) Linksys EA6400 AC1600
3) Linksys EA6350 AC1200+

Do I need to have the netgear as the primary router upstairs, or as the access point on the main floor that will see the most bandwidth?

 

[ch33zw1z]

That should work. Just use Jack's guide earlier in thread for a "router as a WAP" setup guide if needed.

The big draw back is the lack of roaming for mobile devices. There's no handoffs happening while you move around the house.

You could be a good candidate for a mesh wifi setup if needed.